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The #1 show on my list is an innovative take on the police show. Yes, I'm talking about... 1. Cop Rock With its unique blend of gripping drama and catchy music, there had never been anything like Cop Rock on TV before it premiered, and it's unlikely we'll ever see anything on TV like it again. This may be a surprising choice to many for the top spot because the show was cancelled after just 11 episodes and sports a putrid 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as well as a 4.4/10 on IMDB, but it really is a show you can either love or hate, and I happen to be one of the ones who love it. Coming out just as the Disney Renaissance was kicking into high gear, the Disney-owned ABC gave us a show with songs as easy to shake your head and sing along to as in movies like The Little Mermaid and The Lion King, but they happened to be singing them as people got kidnapped, shot, and killed. It truly was a masterpiece. And, of course, I'm kidding. The #1 show on this list isn't Cop Rock. It's... 1. The Wire David Simon's in-depth look at crime in Baltimore is the absolute peak of prestige TV in my eyes. The writing, acting, and directing are consistently good from the very first episode, and though it didn't get as much attention as another HBO show airing at around the same time also hailed by many as one of the best ever in The Sopranos (a show I've only seen one episode of, sorry), it was able to finish the story it wanted to tell, and it could not have done it much better. The Wire immediately separates itself from most other cop shows by putting just as much of a focus on the criminals as the police investigating them and not making all of the criminals bad guys by default but giving them a more nuanced portrayal while aiming greater criticism at the systemic issues that push many in these urban, African-American majority areas to crime in the first place. Every season focuses on a different dimension of these systemic issues, starting with the police department itself during the first season, the unions in the second season, the government in the third season, the schools in the fourth season, and the media in the fifth season. I have never seen a better depiction of the effects of urban decay than The Wire, and the fact that it's just as relevant today, if not more so, than when it first premiered in 2002 makes it a show that pretty much everyone should set time aside to watch. Breaking Bad and Mr. Robot are as great as they are in large part because of their main characters and the stellar performances by Bryan Cranston and Rami Malek of those respective characters. Without them, the shows would undoubtedly be worse and likely wouldn't be on this list, certainly not in my top 3. What puts The Wire a step above them is the fact that it doesn't rely on one character or one actor. My favorite season, season 4, had barely any of Jimmy McNulty, who had been the show's main character the first three seasons, at all. The show had a murderer's row of emerging talent, most notably Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, and the late Michael K. Williams. With this kind of talent and the show's reliably good writing to support it, they could handle a character as important to the show's events as McNulty taking a backseat, and with season 4, they had an opportunity to prove just that, giving us some of the best television to ever be put on the screen in the process. Though it was loved by critics even while it was airing, The Wire never got great ratings, with the slow pace and complicated storylines making it a difficult show to follow in the pre-streaming era. It also wasn't very flashy compared to most of HBO's hits, which was a deliberate decision but also something that hurt The Wire's viewership. Its focus on black drug dealers is also something that limited its appeal, with it likely not being a coincidence that season 2, which gave the spotlight to the city's mostly white dock union, had the show's best ratings. The reasons most HBO subscribers weren't digging The Wire are probably the same reasons Emmy voters didn't like the show, either, the ones who bothered to watch, anyway, making The Wire the best show to never win an Emmy, only being nominated twice for its writing and getting nada outside of that. Despite everything going against it, the show continued to stick to its philosophy, which was to give us an unfiltered look at what used to be a great American city. Though not a lot of what it had to show us was good, it's good that we got to see it anyway, and while it could have been easy for The Wire to succumb to all its cynicism, it ended on a hopeful note instead, making it clear that Simon and the rest of the crew still believed in Baltimore someday fixing the problems that led to the show's creation in the first place. 20 years later, Baltimore clearly hasn't done that, encouraging Simon to return to the city for his miniseries We Own This City that aired last spring, but I'm sure he hasn't lost his hope yet, and as long as that is the case, neither can we. That's it for my list! Thanks to everyone who read through this, and especially those of you who waited through the progressively longer breaks to do so. Even today, the list would likely be different than it was when I started, due to Atlanta's final season and the amazing (possibly top 10 worthy?) show I just finished in Barry. Still, it's close to enough to what my 10ish favorite shows really are that I'm happy with the list, and I hope that you all have a happy holidays!

Is it time for another Hawk music thread? Well, let's hope it doesn't go off the rails as hard as the last one! Y'all have heard enough of me talk about my gripes with a few different genres of music over time, but I wanna take a break from that and post some stuff that I actually do enjoy. These are my choices for "essential" albums, meaning that, while they're not necessarily my favorites (although at least one of these definitely is), they're albums that: A) I'll recommend to anyone regardless of their own tastes, and B) I think a lot of people aren't likely to hear about without a recommendation. So, let's go! #5: AMARANTHE - MASSIVE ADDICTIVE (2014) What would happen if you put Ariana Grande, Brendon Urie, and the guy from Bring Me the Horizon all in one band? You'd probably get something similar to Amaranthe, a relatively recent Swedish band that's managed to find an infectious middle ground between pop music and metalcore/melodic deathcore. I've come to think of them as kinda being Europe's answer to Babymetal: most of their songs are pump-up metal tracks with a heavy smattering of pop hooks, and plenty of crazy interplay between the three singers and their different styles. Massive Addictive is my favorite of their albums to date, and it's exactly as sticky as the title suggests. #4: GARY CLARK JR. - THIS LAND (2019) Meet the modern Stevie Ray Vaughan, folks! Gary Clark Jr. has been making the rounds in the world of Austin blues for a while now, and really, he deserves even more love than he gets now. Most of his work is a sort of salad bowl of blues rock, R&B, hip hop, and folk, all tied together with rich guitar work in the tradition of SRV and Hendrix. This Land was (by Gary's own statements) his first deliberate effort at making a more lyric-driven album, with songs about everyday life, family, politics, and everything in between. #3: DREAM THEATER - IMAGES AND WORDS (1992) Those of you who've talked with me about music since 2019 will know that I love quite a lot of the work by Dream Theater, the band that codified the entire genre of prog metal. Images and Words is pretty widely considered to be either their best or second-best album (behind Scenes from a Memory), and I have to agree on that. This album, with a very dreamy and layered sound throughout, was especially a huge comfort to me through the early days of COVID, especially in tracks like "Take the Time" and "Surrounded". Even for folks who don't necessarily like prog, I would say this album deserves at least a try. #2: PLINI - HANDMADE CITIES (2016) "Inhale" off of this album made it into my entries for Community Mixtape 3, and for good reason. Plini, an Australian indie guitarist, is a master of making what I can best describe as "happy music for angry people", and that perfectly applies to Handmade Cities. Guitar legend Steve Vai described this album as "one of the finest, forward thinking, melodic, rhythmically and harmonically deep, evolution of rock/metal instrumental guitar records [he's] ever heard"... and he's not kidding. If you want something that works especially well as study music, or something to put on when you need to cool down, this is a perfect album for the moment. #1: STURGILL SIMPSON - A SAILOR'S GUIDE TO EARTH (2016) Oh, Sturgill, what do we do with you? I would call Sturgill Simpson one of my favorite artists of any genre. Most people call him a country singer (and he certainly sings the part), but he's changed up his sound with every album, and I've followed him down that rabbit hole every weird step of the way. A Sailor's Guide to Earth, though, is easily my favorite of his albums: an eclectic mix of outlaw country, folk, soul, rock, and funk, with a heavy nautical theme throughout. It's an album that Sturgill made to be addressed to his then-newborn son, and you feel that passion across every single track in the bunch. In the process, he proved that even country music can be the breeding grounds for a genuinely creative and engaging bit of art. For that, Sailor's Guide is also one of my favorite albums of all time, and probably will stay such well into the future. Keep on sailing, Sturgill.

Hi again, y'all! Now that I've crash-landed into the SBC cash register, let's get down to business. While applying to become a mod here, I said that my agenda as a staff member would be to help bring more video game-oriented experiences to SBC, especially now that it seems Amogus is on its last legs for us. One idea that came up right out of the gate was the possibility of us reviving SpongeCraft, our good old Minecraft server, and using the same map. A lot of us have had some fond memories (and unfinished projects!) on SC, so if we could get the server back online some time in the future, I think that would be great! But, be warned: If we give this idea the green light, it'll take quite a while to get underway. I would most likely have to self-host the server, and while my current secondary laptop is capable of running a rudimentary server, it's nowhere near powerful enough to sufficiently run a Minecraft instance. A potential SC revival would have to wait until I can afford to either buy a new computer (and repurpose my current laptop into server-hosting duty) or subscribe for a VPS. After that, it'll be a probably-tedious process to get all of the required plugins working before launch. In short: don't expect this to happen any time soon. (Also, it'll almost certainly still be using Minecraft 1.12.2, for both server stability and ease of use for people with terrible computers.) I'm pitching this publicly to ask: are any of you interested in this idea? We almost certainly won't be hosting events on a revived SC, so it'll be around purely as a side activity for all of you to enjoy at your own leisure. If you do have any other ideas you'd like to see implemented this time around, though, feel free to let us know.

if i had seen this thread in january i woulda been handing out Ls left and right to you mfs talking about rap being vocal focused like it was spoken word poetry lmao listen to Good Kid Maad City, Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and Kanye’s first 7 albums (quickly, before he says a slur or kills someone on camera or something and it becomes 100% unacceptable to listen) for a good basis of the genre if you like rock shit, check out experimental rappers/groups like Jpegmafia, Jean Dawson, Paris Texas. tons of artists out there for you but you’re prolly not gonna consistently find what you want listening to drake lmfao. scope in this thread limited

I bet he'd be ashamed at how his son turned out, ar ar ar!

Spongebob Community is (probably) the only Community website that I'M ever going to use!

Jason David Frank, famed actor of the "Power Rangers" series; took his own life earlier today by suicide at the age of 49. I...don't know of anything else to say.

Funniest Member: kev, ExKizuna, Fred, Slug Kindest Member: SOF, Cha, mythix, Katniss Spongiest Member: Winter, 4EverGreen, NegiSpongie, WhoBob Best Gamer: dman, DarknessDG, BobCarotte, ExKizuna Most Cinematic Member: WhoBob, Katniss, jjs, Clappy As Seen on TV: jjs, WhoBob, salmon, Cha Geekiest Band Geek: Prez, kev, Kylie, sbl Most Artistic Member: Aquatic, Cha, Dreaded Patrick, Patty Rose Best Creation: Wumpa Defender, Crash Bandicoot!, Power Rangers: Multiverse Force, Total Cartoon series Best Ended Creation: SBCinema, Mabel's Fables, One-Time Star Wars Characters: Where Are They Now?, Super Mario Bros. Z Kong Best Miniseries: Skod on the Run, Jjs' Riffing Theater: Family Guy Funny Moments, Patrick Star in the Multiverse of Madness, Most Wanted Best Episode: SBCinema (SBCinema), Magnum (Condom) Opus (Skod on the Run), Mission Accomplished (Most Wanted), Chapter 20 (Mabel's Fables) Best Comedy: One-Time Star Wars Characters: Where Are They Now?, 4Kids Edits Ace Attorney, Patrick Star in the Multiverse of Madness Best Storyline: Most Wanted, SBCinema, Total Cartoon series, MegaloMania Best Protagonist: Scooter (Scooter's Paradise: Remastered), Manny (MegaloMania), Clay (Most Wanted), Keanu Reeves (Skod on the Run) Best Antagonist: Skodwarde (Skod on the Run), Hopper (Most Wanted), Plankton (Fumhouse) Honorary Creator: Cha and CNF Honorary Creation: Total Cartoon and The Misadventures of Casper and Wendy Honorary Staff Member: CDCB and terminoob Honorary Member: Ex and kev

Short answer: Yes Long answer: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

All right, folks, here's this secret "little" project that I've been hyping up for a while. I'm going to be sending off my own tenure as a music reviewer with my own list for my favorite music artists of all time (or at least it will be as of that writing). Since the past year, I've gotten around to listening to a gauntlet of albums as means of setting up my list. I've now come close to completion for it, so I can at least start things off with this announcement. Of course, I'm not the first to do something like this when Wumbo has already sent off his Billboard year-end review thread with his own list, but he's said on that same thread that he is open to other members doing their own...: ...Which is exactly why I'm doing my own list. So, here in this thread, you guys are all going to be given a closer look at what defines my music taste. I cannot give too much away already, but I can guarantee that despite me claiming that it will show diverse it is, there is going to be some perceived bias regardless of how I frame it. And of course, before I start my reveals, and before discussion starts, here's a few things to consider: 1) The most important thing to consider is to keep things civil. It's not that I don't trust any of you to keep discussion respectful, but I still stress that are going to be some picks that will spark some disagreements, and I also say this to ensure to keep comments about accusations of me being genre/oldie/recency/etc.-biased to a minimum. At the end of any given day, this is my list, and it consists of MY opinions and my opinions only. There's also a good number of names that you won't be seeing mentioned here, and while I will take questions regarding "what do you think about this artist/that artist?," after I finish the countdown, I prefer not to take answers regarding where one act is on my list and/or why they're not on my list. The collection of music I listen to will, of course, grow in the next several years with several other artists and genres that I haven't explored in-depth yet all already being in my docket. This list is a representation of my music taste at this very point in time. 2) While the format of this list is going to be structured in a similar fashion to that of Wumbo's, there are a few things that I will do different with my list. -Despite that this is a top 100 list, I am going to push the envelope and make this a top 175 list, with the first 75 music acts to be named serving as a long list of honorable mentions. Of course, this is because I have a good number of painful cuts, and I still at least want to recommend and discuss them in some length. -I will list my absolute favorite song and favorite album from the particular artist, but I will gradually increase the amount of songs recommendations after each set of 25 reveals until I reveal my top 10. To elaborate further on this...: 175-151 (The wildcards): 3 songs per act. 150-126 (The strong contenders): 4 songs 125-101 (The painful cuts): 5 songs (The list proper) 100-76: 6 songs 75-51: 7 songs 50-26: 8 songs 25-11: 9 songs 10-1: 10 songs I will try to keep my commentary for most of these music artists as minimal as I can allow, with a good chunk of exceptions, and of course, I will only provide a hyperlink for my top song for each artist, for already obvious reasons. 3) There are some ground rules made for forming this list. First of all, the cutoff for a certain music act to have released an album while having more than one under their belt is 2019, so any artist who began releasing albums in 2020 onwards will not make the cut. Artists with only one studio album to their name will also not make the cut, and while I do hold some current one album artists with high regard, don't expect to see names like SZA or Sky Ferreira to appear because of this rule. Although, I will bend that rule for one artist, but I will not disclose who that will be. 4) The music acts that make up my list and their placements are based on my personal judgments that are measured by a set of certain factors. Just because publications like Rolling Stone, Spin, Pitchfork, etc., and other fellow musicians like Kurt Cobain, Elton John, Elvis Costello, and etc. have said a particular artist to be one of their all-time favorites, that doesn't mean it's my all-time favorite. I, like just about everyone else, don't measure based on success, critical acclaim, how many best-of-all-time lists they appear on, or whatever else. 5) Feel free to make any predictions for my lists if you want to start a bit of a conversation on here, but keep them light-hearted and serious.

@HawkbitAlphais our new mod. Congratulations!! But we also have another new surprise promotion to announce: @Nosferatu!is returning to staff as our third Fry Cook! Thanks to all who applied, and good luck to our two new staff members!

Considering that this is another late announcements thread for my written works, the news that I have to share for the last quarter of the year is going to be more unorthodox. Once again, I have no major updates to share, but I do have some important things to say regarding where I'll be with the general progression of releasing new content. I do have a couple works I intend to finish at least before the end of the year, so while I'm not taking a hiatus per-say, there will be a few certain factors that will effect my writing productivity from this month forward: -Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Other than that, I had also intended to start a Nuzlocke for a separate game that I haven't gotten around to yet. I may not be able to start that until December.) -Me actually trying to get started working on my art portfolio for an animation school/job training program that I'm trying to get admitted to for next year, which I can't disclosure any further beyond that. So, with all that in mind, I will at the very least list a few things that I plan on getting written up before the end of 2022: -The long-delayed Lost in Translation finale. -The VERY long-delayed official first episode of Trinity Leaf Pegasus -The last three episodes of TikI Land along with its and Rebirth of a Storm's epilogue -At least one episode of Total Drama Treasure Tour -Something else, which I can't disclose. This already wraps up the last of my quarterly spin-off announcements, even though it didn't go out with a bang as much as I'd preferred. This doesn't mean that this will be the last of my spin-off announcements, as I will have one planned for next year. That time, however, I will post my next major announcements when the time is right, with my current guarantee being somewhere between January and March 2023.

I hate Hitler

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Discord, Twitter, and Spacehey.

are you squid ward

In the maligned episode "Dear Vikings", Squidward says he is "state registered" which would imply Bikini Bottom is simply one state part of a larger country. There is also a map from the forgotten episode "Hide and Then What Happens?" showing Bikini Bottom on one continent: What would the country's name be, or is it also named Bikini Bottom? How do other cities such as Rock Bottom and New Kelp City fit into this intriguing lore? Why do crappy SpongeBob episodes have interesting lore implications? Why am I asking YOU all of these questions!?

I remember using this map as a reference when making S(lums)BU back in the day lol So much to go off of.

Winter will be here in 24 days

Now that gen 9 has been out for a bit, I figured it was a good time to make this thread. Out of the 3 Gen 9 starters, which did you choose? Or alternatively, if you haven't played it, which would you choose, or is your favorite of the three? Sprigatito: Fuecoco: Quaxly:

Hello folks! I’m your host, SOF, and welcome back to the 16th Golden Community Awards. Now it’s time get this show on the road and vote! You can send me your votes through here or through Discord! Voting Rules 1) Please PM/DM your votes to me via the contact method you choose. Do not post them in this thread. 2) You cannot vote for yourself. This also applies to anything you have made in the Writing categories. 3) You can vote for only one nominee per category. 4) You must vote for at least one section. You are welcome to skip a section if you’re not comfortable voting in that field, but it would be nice for the holiday season if votes could be given in all categories. 5) No Will Smith slaps. Prizes If a nominee wins a GCA, they'll receive: 1,000 doubloons, 200 experience points, GCA Winner badge (if not already obtained from previous years), and a graphics piece with your name and the corresponding category, which they are then free to place in their signature or profile! Nominees And now… *casts magic spell* the GCA XVI Nominees! MEMBERS: Funniest Member: Honest Slug OWM ExKizuna Fred SpongeBob And Patrick Cha Kindest Member: Katniss ExKizuna Cha SOF DarknessDG Patty Sponge Spongiest Member: Salmon Winter 4EverGreen WhoBob Carotte Pickle Man Best Gamer: ExKizuna DarknessDG Dmandaman Winter Honest Slug Steel Sponge Most Cinematic Member: Clappy WhoBob Aya Kylie Katie OMJ As Seen on TV: WhoBob JCM Jjs Mythix Cha Katie Geekiest Band Geek: Kylie Kev Prez Steel Sponge Cha Katniss Most Artistic Member: Cha Salmon Aquatic Konquest Patty Sponge Katie DarknessDG WRITING: Best Creation: SpongeBob SquarePants: Lost in Translation (Steel) 4Kids Edits Ace Attorney (Fa) Crash Bandicoot, Wumpa Defender (OMJ) Boating School Badass (OMJ) Red Flag Savior: Rebirth of a Storm (Steel) Power Rangers: Multiverse Force (4EverGreen) Best Ended Creation: Mabel’s Fables (JCM) SBCinema (Clappy) One-Time Star Wars Characters: Where Are They Now? (OWM & jjs) JCMovies (JCM) Squidward Chat (Halibut) The Silly Adventures of Patrick Star (JCM) Best Miniseries: Patrick Star in the Multiverse of Madness (JCM) MegaloMania (OMJ) Feral Phobia (OMJ) Skod on the Run (OMJ & jjs) Family Guy Funny Moments (jjs & crew) Most Wanted (jjs) Best Episode: SBCinema Finale (SBCinema - Clappy) Chapter 20 (Mabel’s Fables - JCM) Magnum (Condom) Opus (Skod on the Run - OMJ) Swamp Bros (MegaloMania - OMJ) Strezz Alone (Red Flag Savior - Steel) Mission Accomplished (Most Wanted - jjs) Best Comedy: 4Kids Edits Ace Attorney (Fa) Patrick Star in the Multiverse of Madness (JCM) One-Time Star Wars Characters: Where Are They Now? (OWM & jjs) SpongeBob SquarePants: Lost in Translation (Steel) Total Cartoon Legends (4EverGreen) Chemist Bob’s Catastrophic Creations Cinema (Steel) Best Storyline: MegaloMania (OMJ) Mabel’s Fables (JCM) Most Wanted (jjs) Red Flag Savior: Rebirth of a Storm (Steel) Total Cartoon Legends (4EverGreen) Supreme: The Ivory Icon (Rebel) Best Protagonist: Manny (MegaloMania - OMJ) Keanu Reeves (Skod on the Run - OMJ & jjs) Scooter (Scooter’s Paradise: Remastered - jjs) Ethan Crane (Supreme - Rebel) Mabel (Mabel’s Fables - JCM) Strezz (Red Flag Savior - Steel) Best Antagonist: Hopper (Most Wanted - jjs) Skodwarde (Skod on the Run - OMJ & jjs) Plankton (Fumhouse - OMJ) Merlin (Mabel’s Fables - JCM) Seymour (Red Flag Savior - Steel) Dr. Maniac (Power Rangers: Multiverse Force - 4EverGreen) HALL OF FAME: Honorary Creator: OWM Nuggets Cha ClassicNickelodeonFan1 Honorary Creation: Bikini Bottom Nature Watch (OWM) Squidward Chat (Halibut) Total Cartoon Legends (4EverGreen) The Misadventures of Casper and Wendy (Appy) Honorary Staff Member: terminoob CDCB Aquatic Konquest Trophy Katie Honorary Member: ExKizuna Fa Prez Storm Kev The deadline to submit your votes will be by December 12th, but I can extend if you need more time. Now get to it! If you vote, King will give you a cookie.

I voted!

I would like to visit North Korea, sounds like a great tourist destination!

whichever one will give me the funniest glitch

...Get back to work, Mr. Squidward.

Funniest Member: Fred, SpongeCob, Kylie, SpongeBobandPatrick Kindest Member: Cha, DarknessDG, Exkazuna Spongiest Member: Salmon, Bobcarotte, Winter Best Gamer: DarknessDG, Winter, RDSP, Exkazuna Most Cinematic Member: Katniss, Clappy, Whobob As Seen on TV: JCM, Trophy, JJS, Whobob Geekiest Band Geek: Exkazuna, Steel Sponge, Kylie, Kev, Cha Most Artistic Member: Salmon, Cha, Terminoob, SpongeCob, DarknessDG

Just got into this recently in time for the final season (coming this spring), very good show. Will turn this into SBC's next Breaking Bad & Saul. Special thanks to Ex and Fa for getting me hooked on this. Behold the scene that sold me on the show: Shoutout to the Barry squad: @Minty Car @Purple Flurp @Kebab @Frylock @Young Nug

Glad to be (partly) behind another SBC obsession. Absolutely spectacular show that handles it's tonal shifts marvelously without abandoning either it's humor or tension. Season 4 is gonna be legendary

One of the best TV shows i have ever seen this year. Top notch talent coming from Hader and Berg. The show knows how to make you laugh and give you anxiety at the same time. It's a must watch. Also

This squid is so undercooked I can still hear it telling SpongeBob to fuck off!

Kebab

Andor and Mob Psycho 100 fucking destroying you on the same day is a huge accomplishment. thanks for amazing wednesdays

Winter will be here in 42 days

Welp. I've been putting off writing a follow-up on this thread for quite a while now, but y'know what? It's time. But before we dive in, lemme clear one thing up right from the start: So, I've gotta be honest: so far, I haven't listened to any of the album recommendations y'all posted here. Not because I don't want to, but because I just have an ADHD-induced problem with sitting down and absorbing full albums of any kind (even going through Madvillainy and its string of short songs took me a while), so I tend to avoid doing so out of sheer intimidation. Still, one big thing has changed: Throw out a lot of what I said in the first post in this thread, because even I don't really know what the hell I like anymore! After I posted this thread, one of the later people to respond to me about it (in private) was Royalcord's own Omni. For those of you who don't know, Omni is a DJ with a background as a classical musician, and somebody whose thoughts on music I value very highly - she was the one who first got me to listen to Ready to Die, and has helped me build a whole song library to use for VCAP Aerobatics. All of this is to put some weight behind the fact that, after reading this thread, Omni came to me and, probably channeling what some of you have already stated, told me: you're doing it all wrong. That my fixation on lyrics and melody was completely missing the point. It didn't quite click until she also pointed out one fact that put it all into perspective: that I'm already a fan of ambient music, which itself is another genre that rides mainly on its production quality above eveything else. And, I'll be frank with y'all, I felt like a total dumbass for not drawing that connecting line before. Well, there it was. A Eureka moment! Kinda. In that same conversation, now with my brain in the process of rewiring, Omni told me to go out and look at hip hop music of various styles, and see what I thought about it all. So, rather than try (and probably fail) to summarize where the hell my standards are at now, I'm simply gonna run through a short, yet still extremely unorganized list of different songs that I've heard, mostly throughout this year, that I enjoyed to some degree or another. Here goes! Peek a Boo - Not a song that I'd really care to listen to again, but this was alright. Aside from the "cello" line being hilarious, the lyrics don't warrant much comment, but I mostly liked the flow of it all. They Know (Dey Know) - Hell to the yeah! This one's way more my speed, especially with that horn sample beat giving the whole song a lot of pump-up energy. It's the kind of thing that could easily soundtrack a Kill Bill Vol. 1-style badass entrance scene. Wicked - This was actually the song that Omni sent me to back up her hip hop and ambient analogy, and right there was when it clicked. I couldn't tell you a single lyric from this song besides the title word, but I still love it. I put it on a lot as chillout music (yep, just like that one Community Mixtape we did), and it suits that mood perfectly. Mask Off - Pretty much the same comment as Wicked, but I actually can quote some of the lines in this one. Really, these two songs were what made me understand how "mumble" rap (Future's MO, really) can actually work after all. Over the Top - Okay, this was just a great laugh by way of Smiley's delivery. Drake also sounds a bit more into it than I expected, which is a good addition. Pretty solid track overall. Ridin' - Yes, I heard the Weird Al parody first - go figure. Yes, I love the original far more, because this song just fucking rules all around! No further comment necessary. Anaconda - Think I'm kidding on this one? Well, I won't tell you I love this song, but I certainly don't get what all the hate was about! The lyrics are fucking hilarious, but even to put that aside, my only complaint is that all the build-up energy gets squandered when the Baby Got Back sample comes in for the... uh, "chorus"? Zydeco Rock - It may have nothing to do with either of the genres in the title, but damn if it doesn't get my brain going! Definitely have to play this one at a party or something some time. (And it has the Cupid Shuffle guy on the chorus!) Talk Shit, Get Shot - This one's obviously an Ice-T rap metal song, but I felt like including it anyway, because it goes hard as hell. I could imagine it slamming pretty heavily even with a regular 99 Problems-style rap beat behind it instead of the band. (There's also two versions of Ice-T's take on 99 Problems on this album!) Bridging the Gap - The classic rock riff from I'm a Man (not Bad to the Bone, you normies!), sampled by Nas? Sign me up! I Am Rock - Heard this one from the original Need For Speed Most Wanted, back when I first played that in 2020. As you might have noticed by now, I'm very fond of these jock jam types of songs, so naturally, this kind of anthemic brag track is my shit. Family Ties - Back to more recent stuff. Pretty good beats (plural?!), which alone is enough to get a thumbs up on this one. Baby Keem's flow comes across as a bit goofy, but otherwise alright, and... god damn, this song is also the first time I'd ever heard Kendrick Lamar. I see why y'all love him so much, because this man is on fire in this song! Greece - Another nice chillout track once you get past the trademark DJ Khaled shouting. I do wish it developed and progressed a little more though. And, for a really obvious ending: SICKO MODE - Speaking as a guy who's listened to probably far too much Dream Theater, I have to say: I FUCKING LOVE THIS SONG. It might actually be one of my favorites of any genre, to the point where I even used it over in YSFlight. I'd actually never heard it until this year (was too busy laughing at Twitter to even notice it during the 2019 Super Bowl show), but god damn, this was the one that really showed me what hip hop production was capable of pulling off. Gotta get to all of those album recommendations soon as well! I might post another follow-up after that as well.

Happy birthday to ))))))))))!

Well, if I was a robot, which I’m not, at least I’m well put together!

I'll have you know I'm still very much active and I do not approve of this unauthorized insight into the Chum Bucket! Nobody has ever been harmed in my lab.

Chum is Fum?

how's your wekend?

you fucking serious with this shit dude lmfao

Beats are such an integral part of rap music. I believe viewing it as mainly a lyrical art form is taking a look at it from a wrong angle. Rap is probably my favorite genre of music, so I feel pretty strong about this subject. I don't know entirely to what you've listened to, but after seeing you list albums liks Madvilliany and Ready to Die, it shows to me that you do want to really understand and appreciate this music. If I may suggest albums, based on what you've said: To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar is probably the best example of beats and tonal expression in modern rap music. It is very, very heavily influenced and implements jazz into the entire album. Not to mention the lyrics are very important tell a story through the entire album. This is probably my mainly point of rap that I enjoy the most. A lot of landmark rap albums, to me, tell the best stories in music. Another good example of this is Aquamini by Outkast. I suppose, as you say, you enjoy tonal music over lyrical importance. So, I can understand when an album is more focused on just rapping, like Eminem or something like that. But, a lot of rap that I focus on is very very beat heavy. Now, I could sit here and suggest trap music. I know that, that is not for everyone. But if I had to suggest any trap music, Denzel Curry's TABOO is probably, objectively the best trap album ever. My personal favorite is Die Lit by Playboi Carti, if I may also suggest. I'd like to shift a bit of focus to my favorite rap album, and in turn my favorite studio album ever produced in general; which is Liquid Swords by GZA. Liquid Swords to me, is everything I personally love about rap music. It's the album, other than TPAB, that I suggest to people. Lyrically, it has everything that makes gangsta rap perfect. It's hard, it's aggressive, yet it's sad and has something to say. The beats are nearly unmatched, and the sampling means something greater than most in the genre. Now, focusing on MF DOOM, I can see where your taste lies in that. May I suggest records like Endtroducing... by DJ Shadow (not rap but important hip hop), It Takes A Nation of a Million to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy (important early hip hop that heavily influences modern rap music), Enter the Wu-tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan (which is an influence in major samples being used during albums, much like Madvilliany), The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox (a contemporary piece of nerd rap that is closely related to Madvilliany), Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator (more lyrically focused, but obviously influenced by Madvillainy), Some Rap Songs by Earl Sweatshirt (all lyrical and a lot less beats, but all together is linked to that album. Experimental). Experimental rap is also something I would suggest exploring like Exmilitary by Death Grips or Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Green. I could go on and on about rap music, but I hope you can at least give some of these albums a chance. I don't know if I could convince you or anything, I just like seeing people trying to branch out their musical taste. So it's cool that you made a thread like this to try and reach out.

just listen to it lol